Unpad Innovation and Business Summit 2025 Opens Opportunities for Collaboration with Industry and Strategic Partners

[Unpad Media Channel] Universitas Padjadjaran hosts the Unpad Innovation and Business Summit 2025 on Wednesday, April 30th, 2025, at Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta. Being held under the theme “Embracing the Future: The Nexus of Sustainability, Innovation, and Business Excellence,” the summit brings together 90 industry partners in a strategic platform for collaboration. The event connects Unpad’s executives with industrial leaders, investors, and potential partners to promote downstream innovation and commercialization of research and business units developed by the university.

“In the past, universities have often been too focused on themselves. In fact, we have so much potential to share and collaborate on. Therefore, building partnerships with industry is essential,” said Unpad Rector Prof. Arief S. Kartasasmita in his opening remarks.

Following presidential directives, universities are now encouraged to become more open and break down institutional silos that have long hindered external engagement. This shift paves the way for collaboration with industry, communities, and government to collectively support national development. Academic research is also increasingly directed toward partnerships with industry to ensure relevance and real-world impact.

“When industry has a specific need, research in universities can respond through meaningful collaboration that benefits both parties,” Prof. Arief added.

The summit is attended by Unpad’s executives, directors, unit heads, and industry partners. Vice Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Dony Oskaria, S.IP., MBA., served as one of the keynote speakers, presenting “The Role of Stakeholders for Universities as Engines of Innovation.” In his speech, Dony emphasizes the significant potential of universities to drive innovation—particularly through platforms like Danantara, which facilitate collaboration among academia, industry, and key stakeholders.

“This event shows how much we (BUMN and Danantara) support collaborations between business, academia, and global society, especially for economic growth,” said Dony, who is also the COO of Danantara and an Unpad alumnus.

Danantara, a subholding of 844 BUMN companies, is committed to opening wide opportunities for partnership with universities, especially Unpad, in curriculum development and research collaboration. These efforts are crucial to generating innovations aligned with industry needs.

“Danantara encourages deeper collaboration in product development, human resource enhancement, and management and infrastructure development,” he stated.

Deputy for Investment Climate Development at BKPM, Riyatno, stressed the importance of triple helix collaboration between government, industry, and academia. He noted that while industry needs innovation, technology, and skilled talent—all strengths of the academic world—universities need real-world partners to apply their research outcomes for national impact.

“Synergy between universities and industry is key. We must build bridges between theory and practice, research and market, ideas and investment. This is where collaboration finds its true meaning,” said Riyatno.

He describes the Unpad Innovation and Business Summit 2025 as a crucial moment to strengthen university–industry partnerships, especially as the Ministry continues to accelerate national downstreaming through strategic collaborations with higher education as innovation centers.

“We urge both state-owned and private sectors to collaborate more closely with universities, so that Indonesia’s natural resources can be developed and utilized optimally through sustainable synergy,” he concluded.

Indonesia’s Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Brian Yuliarto, S.T., M.Eng., Ph.D., delivers a video message reinforcing the importance of the summit as a platform to enhance synergy between academia, industry, government, and society.

“This event is more than an exchange of ideas. It should serve as a catalyst for impactful innovations that elevate Indonesia on the global stage,” said Prof. Brian.

Also in attendance is Dr. Fauzan Adziman, S.T., M.Eng., Director General of Research and Development at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology. He expresses strong appreciation for the summit, which aligns with national priorities in advancing research commercialization and industrialization.

“Universities tend to focus on publication and often stop at the prototype stage. The challenge is to ensure prototypes make real contributions. That’s why building an innovation ecosystem—like what this summit aims to foster—is so important. Hopefully, this initiative can serve as a model for other institutions,” he remarked.

The summit also included the signing of several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and Cooperation Agreements (PKS) between Unpad and the following strategic partners:

MoUs signed with:

PT Hasna Medika Bakti Cirebon (dr. Gugun Iskandar, President Director)
PT Zurich General Takaful Indonesia (Zurich Syariah) (Dian Iskandar Wibowo, Director)
PT Krakatau Sarana Infrastruktur (Iip Arief Budiman, President Director)
PT Pertamina Patra Niaga (Harsono Budi Santoso, Director of Planning & Business Development)
Ministry of Transmigration, Republic of Indonesia (Danton Ginting Munthe, Secretary General)
PT Kaltim Prima Coal (Ashok Mitra, CEO)
PT Telemedika Teknologi Indonesia (Getwell Indonesia) (Andrey Rachmat Hidayat, President Director)

PKS signed with:

PT Pos Indonesia (Prasabri Pesti, Director of Business Development and Portfolio Management)
PT Hasna Medika Bakti Cirebon (dr. Gugun Iskandar, President Director)
PT Royal Medicalink (Dyah Njotowidjojo, MBA, Vice President of Growth and Marketing)
PT Zurich General Takaful Indonesia (Zurich Syariah) (Dian Iskandar Wibowo, Director)
PT Royal Medicalink Pharmalab (Dyah Njotowidjojo, MBA, Vice President of Growth and Marketing)
PT Krakatau Bandar Samudera (Radi Soemarjono, President Director)

As part of the summit, Universitas Padjadjaran also presented the “Unpad Most Valuable Industry Partner Award” to recognize key partners for their outstanding contributions to strategic collaboration: